Come, Let's Speculate

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – PATRICK THOMAS

eSpec Books interviews Patrick Thomas, contributor to The Best of Bad-Ass Faeries, edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail, currently funding on Kickstarter as a part of the #Make100 campaign.

eSB: What is your idea of a bad-ass faerie?

Patrick Thomas: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, the godmother of the series, would certainly seem to qualify as the archetype of a bad-ass faerie. And a bad-ass editor too.

eSB: Can you tell us a little about your story, Looking a Gift Horse, that was selected for The Best of Bad-Ass Faeries?

Patrick Thomas: It takes Terrorbelle – who was in the original Bad-Ass Faeries in a story set in modern day New York City – back to her days in Faerie. She’s just a kid and yet not the accomplished soldier she grows up to be. She has to depend more on her wits than her brawn to survive the attentions of a killer soldier and a deadly Aughisky, a breed of water horse.

eSB: What would your fae character’s signature drink be and why?

Patrick Thomas: She likes beer, but she might enjoy a Pink Lady as it would match her hair.

eSB: What do you like most about The Bad-Ass Faeries series, and why?

Patrick Thomas: The variety of the characters and the settings of the stories is amazing. So many authors contributing so many different yet enjoyable tales.

eSB: What kind of challenges did you find writing for this series?

Patrick Thomas: Right before the events in Looking a Gift Horse, Terrorbelle had suffered a traumatic and life changing event and is seeking revenge, but is only 11 years old. It was a challenge to try to coincide with the rawness and youth of the story with her older more confident self.

eSB: What is your first recollection of faeries growing up?

Patrick Thomas: Well, probably Tinkerbelle in Peter Pan- I saw the show on Broadway when I was a kid. And stories of leprechauns, which in an Irish family isn’t that unusual.

eSB: What interested you in writing for this series?

Patrick Thomas: Danielle Ackley-Mcphail and I were in the Dark Furies anthology and she asked me if I’d be interested in writing a Terrorbelle story for the first Bad-Ass Faeries. I jumped at the chance.

eSB: Tell us something about yourself that is bad-ass.

Patrick Thomas: I could tell you, but then… Naw.

eSB: Do you have any plans to expand your story…or write in the same universe? If so, what more can your readers expect?

Patrick Thomas: Terrorbelle has two books of her own – Fairy With A Gun (a collection of short stories that was once optioned by Laurence Fishburne’s Cinema Gypsy Productions for film and TV) and Fairy Rides The Lightning (a murder mystery in Valhalla that is not solved in time could lead to Ragnorak). Stories of Terrorbelle’s younger years in Faerie will be collected soon with a cover by the legendary Daniel Horne and her adventures take place in the Murphy’s Lore universe.

eSB: What are some of your own works readers can look for?

Patrick Thomas: The Murphy’s Lore and Startenders series, paranormal mysteries Lore & Dysorder (starring Hell’s Detective), Dead To Rites and Rites of Passage (starring Agent Karver of The Department of Mystic Affairs), the steampunk As The Gears Turn and the many Dear Cthulhu advice books.

eSB: What projects of your own do you have coming up?

Patrick Thomas: A new Dear Cthulhu collection, a collection and novel featuring Hex and a Soul For Hire collection.

Patrick Thomas has had stories published in over three dozen magazines and more than fifty anthologies. He’s written 30+ books including the fantasy humor series Murphy’s Lore, urban fantasy spin offs Fairy With A Gun, Fairy Rides The Lightning, Dead To Rites, Rites of Passage, Lore & Dysorder and two more in the Startenders series. He co-writes the Mystic Investigatorsparanormal mystery series and The Assassins’ Ball, a traditional mystery, co-authored with John L. French. His darkly humorous advice column Dear Cthulhu includes the collections Have A Dark Day, Good Advice For Bad People, and Cthulhu Knows Best. His latest collection is the Steampunk themed As The Gears Turn. A number of his books were part of the props department of the CSI television show and one was even thrown at a suspect. Fairy With A Gun was optioned by Laurence Fishburne’s Cinema Gypsy Productions. Act of Contrition, a story featuring his Soul For Hire hitman is in development as a short film by Top Men Productions. Drop by www.patthomas.net to learn more.